New U-Pb and 40 Ar geochronology and structural data from high-to medium grade metamorphic shear zones of the Ossa-Morena Zone, and structural data from Early Carboniferous basins (Ossa-Morena Zone and South-Portuguese Zone), place additional constraints on the Variscan tectonics in SW Iberia. A zircon U-Pb age of 465±14 Ma (Middle Ordovician) measured on migmatite from the Coimbra-Cordoba shear zone is interpreted as the age of protolith crystallization. This age determination revises the information contained in the geological map of Portugal, in which these rocks were considered to be Proterozoic in age. This paper describes the evolution of Variscan wrench tectonics related to the development of shear zones, exhumation of deep crustal rocks and emplacement of magma in the Ossa-Morena Zone basement. In the Coimbra-Cordoba shear zone (transpressional), migmatites were rapidly exhumed from a depth of 42.5 km to 16.6 km over a period of ca. 10 Ma in the Viséan (ca. 340-330 Ma), indicating oblique slip exhumation rates of 8.5 to 10.6 mm/yr (Campo Maior migmatites) and 3.2 mm/yr (Ouguela gneisses) respectively. In the Évora Massif, the gneisses of the Boa Fé shear zone (transtensional) were exhumed from 18.5 to 7.4 km depth in the period ca. 344-334 Ma (Viséan), with exhumation oblique slip rates of 2.8 to 4.2 mm/yr. At the same time, the Early Carboniferous basins of SW Iberia were filled by turbidites and olistoliths, composed mostly of Devonian rocks. The presence of olistoliths indicates significant tectonic instability during sedimentation with large-scale mass movement, probably in the form of gravity slides. Deformation and metamorphism dated at 356±12 Ma, 321±13 Ma and 322±29 Ma respectively suggests that Variscan wrench movements were active in SW Iberia during the Early Carboniferous for a period of at least 35 Ma.

This paper introduces an assessment of the representation of shape parameter measurements on theoretical particles. The aim of the study was to establish a numerical method for estimating sphericity, roundness, and roughness on artificially designed particles and to evaluate their interdependence. The parameters studied included a fractal dimension (FD), solidity (So), Wadell's roundness (Rw), a perimeter-area normalized ratio (¥), and sphericity (S). The methods of the work included: (a) the design of theoretical particles with different shapes, (b) the definition of optimal analysis conditions for automated measurements, (c) the quantification of particle parameters by computer vision-based image processing, and (d) the evaluation of interdependence between the parameters. The study established the minimum sizes required for analysis of the particle shape. These varied depending on the method used (150 pixels or 50 pixels). Evaluating the relationships between the parameters showed that FD and So are independent of S. Nevertheless, Rw and ¥ are clearly dependent on S and, thus, must be numerically corrected to Rwc and ¥c. FD, So, Rwc, and ¥c were used to establish, mathematically, a new regularity parameter (RBC) that reflects the degree of roundness of a particle. The process was applied to a case study and the evaluation of all parameters corroborated previous petrographic characterizations. Minerals 2019, 9, 768 2 of 21 corners of the particle. Six categories of roundness for sediment grains have been established and, for each category, one grain of low and one of high sphericity was introduced [3,6-9]. The six categories are: Very angular, angular, subangular, sub-rounded, rounded, and well-rounded. Two-dimensional particle shape measurements are particularly applicable when individual particles cannot be extracted from the rock matrix (e.g., thin sections under an optical microscope). Microscopic images are two-dimensional. Therefore, they only show part of the shape of the three-dimensional particle. The assessed image is usually of particles lying on their most stable plane on a flat support, i.e., showing the largest projection area.Traditionally, roundness indices compare the outline of a 2D projection of the particle to a circle. The first comparison defines the roundness as the ratio ri/R, which was shown in [10] (where ri is the radius of the sharpest corner, and R is the radius of the smallest circumscribing sphere). On the other hand, [11] defined the roundness parameter based on the radius of the curvature of particle corners and the radius of the largest inscribed sphere.[6] and [7] used comparison charts with a class limit table for roundness. Some authors considered angularity to be the opposite of roundness, while others considered the degree of angularity [12] to be a combination of the angular relationship between the planes bounding a corner and the distance of the corner from the center of the particle. The overall particle form heavily influences the method. In addition, [12] presente...

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Optical image analysis (OIA) supporting microscopic observation can be applied to improve ore mineral characterization of ore deposits, providing accurate and representative numerical support to petrographic studies, on the polished section scale. In this paper, we present an experimental application of an automated mineral quantification process on polished sections from Zaruma-Portovelo intermediate sulfidation epithermal deposit (Ecuador) using multispectral and color images. Minerals under study were gold, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena, pyrite, pyrrhotite, bornite, hematite, chalcocite, pentlandite, covellite, tetrahedrite and native bismuth. The aim of the study was to quantify the ore minerals visible in polished section through OIA and, mainly, to show a detailed description of the methodology implemented. Automated ore identification and determination of geometric parameters predictive of geometallurgical behavior, such as grade, grain size or liberation, have been successfully performed. The results show that automated identification and quantification of ore mineral images are possible through multispectral and color image analysis. Therefore, the optical image analysis method could be a consistent automated mineralogical alternative to carry on detailed ore petrography.Geosciences 2016, 6, 30 2 of 23 with important contributions in metallurgical processes [13][14][15] and provide rapid, statistically reliable and repeatable mineralogical, petrographic and metallurgical data.OIA is a convenient, accessible, and inexpensive tool for obtaining comprehensive information about fine fractions of the ore [13][14][15][16]. However, a limiting factor in direct OIA is the discrimination between minerals with similar reflective properties [17]. A digital image is a numerical representation of a two-dimensional image. Digital cameras used in optical microscopy usually incorporate a charge-coupled device (CCD) to capture images. The CCD transfers the optical photon data received through a filter into electronic pulse or photo. The generated voltage is then converted into pixels (converting analogical data to digital data) and stored as a digital image that contains a fixed number of rows and columns of pixels [17,18]. A color image is a digital image that includes color information for each pixel. Color images can be acquired using a CCD digital camera (i.e., 3CCD camera, Bayer mosaic filter or three shot color sampling). For visually acceptable digital color images, it is necessary to provide grey levels (GL) in three bands/channels for each pixel, which are interpreted as coordinates in one of the existing color spaces.The Red, Green and Blue (RGB) color model is an additive color model in which red, green, and blue light is added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. It is commonly applied in computer displays but other models such as hue-saturation-value (HSV) are also in use. RGB images have been employed for the identification and quantification of opaque minerals in polished secti...